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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24633127">shadow of a doubt</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/saltziepark/pseuds/saltziepark'>saltziepark</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Legacies (TV 2018)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Non-Magical, F/F, Film Noir, Private Investigators, a whodunit if you will, landon is useless in this fic and in all fics thank you very much, they're clearly all over eighteen because drinking, think gritty LA in the 1950s but with cellphones and forensic tech</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 01:02:26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>13,562</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24633127</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/saltziepark/pseuds/saltziepark</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Jasie film noir AU. Jade Salvatore is on the biggest case of her career, but a one-night-stand with a woman whose name she can't remember turns into something that they both never expected.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Hope Mikaelson &amp; Lizzie Saltzman, Hope Mikaelson/Lizzie Saltzman, Jade &amp; Josie Saltzman, Jade/Josie Saltzman</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>68</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>158</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Jade should have known that her life would change forever when she got the call at five in the morning, her phone ringing off the hook, shattering the cocoon of sleep she was wrapped in. She reaches for it on her bedside table, knocking over an empty bottle of gin in the darkness. The girl she had brought home last night (well, three hours ago) sighs deeply in her sleep, and rolls away from Jade, her brunette curls and red lipstick enough to set off a deep longing to ignore the call, ignore the day, and nurse her hangover with a little TLC from - shit, what was her name? Jamie? That seemed right. We’ll go with Jamie.</p>
<p>Even as the thought came and went as Jade ran a finger down her back (god, those muscles), she knew she would have no such luck. Her phone continues to ring, as the LA sky opens up around her, thunder and rain pattering the windows in an uncharacteristic summer storm. </p>
<p>“Salvatore,” Jade mumbles as she answers, sitting up straighter in bed, the maroon sheet covering her chest falling to her bare waist. She is sore, her legs and calves pleasurably tight as she stretches, holding back a yawn. A source within the police department, Landon Kirby, a rookie beat cop who probably had feathers for brains, is on the other end. A murder, he says, in the hills. It hadn’t hit the wire yet so Jade had the chance for the biggest case of her career before the vultures at the newspapers came knocking.</p>
<p>“What do you need me for?” </p>
<p>“The detectives are pretty stumped here, so it’s only a matter of time before you get the official call. Someone said something about a ‘consulting detective.’ Isn’t that what you’re calling yourself now?”</p>
<p>“What’s in it for you, Kirby?” Because everyone had an agenda, even the lowest cops on the totem pole. They all had desires for something more. Or someone more. </p>
<p>“Hope Mikaelson,” he says simply and Jade groans, rubbing a hand over her face.</p>
<p>Hope Mikaelson was the owner of Klaus’, the most exclusive bar in the city. It had been rumored to have been a front for rum runners and bootleggers a couple of decades back when Klaus was running the joint, but following his death, Hope had cleaned up the place and now it was a nightclub and bar, offering clientele music, dancing, privacy, and the strongest G&amp;Ts this side of the Mississippi. And Hope, well, Hope was gorgeous, mysterious, and well-spoken and you could always find her tending bar.</p>
<p>Sighing, Jade knew that he was going out on a limb for her, so she made up her mind quickly. The case of her career hung in the balance. </p>
<p>“Fine. Meet me at her bar tonight and I can make the necessary introductions,” she says, hanging up the call before muttering to herself - “not my fault if you and her play for the same team, buddy.”</p>
<p>Looking over at the sleeping woman, Jade bites her lip. She has never been sentimental, particularly where her one-night stands were concerned, but something about Jamie (is she sure its Jamie? Definite something ending in -ie) makes her want to at least say goodbye before she vanishes out of the woman’s life. Because while picking up a girl at a bar and bringing her back to her place was one of her favorite pastimes, dating certainly wasn’t. Not if she wanted to get ahead and make a name for herself. </p>
<p>Her private investigation practice was running on fumes, and there were only so many jealous husbands and cheating spouses that she could tail day and night before she ran out of money. </p>
<p>She had taken to assisting the police with some of their stranger crimes - killings with no evidence or motive, kidnappings of  Hollywood’s rich and famous. LAPD paid her pennies for her ideas, but at least it was <em> real </em> work. </p>
<p>“Hey,” Jade whispers, kissing the woman’s shoulder, “I gotta go, and I don’t know when I’ll be back, but, uh this was fun. Can you lock up on your way out?” She winks at the woman who peers at her with eyes half open before kissing her once more because she might be a serial player, but at least she had some class. And leaving a gorgeous woman in her bed seemed almost criminal. The woman tastes like gin, bad decisions, and the remnants of too many cigarettes and Jade nearly moans at the kiss. Nearly, but not quite.</p>
<p>Showering quickly and pulling on a black pencil skirt, white blouse, grey blazer, and trenchcoat, Jade ran a hand through her thoroughly tousled hair, knowing it looked like she had just rolled out of bed after a night of sex, but, after all, that much was true, so why fight it? </p>
<p>She touches up her makeup and lipstick, grabbing her bag and dashing out of the door, sprinting to her car in the lot behind her apartment, avoiding puddles in her three-inch heels. </p>
<p>The drive from Silverlake to Beverly Hills takes almost no time and thankfully the rain has stopped by the time she arrives, weaving through streets of houses that got larger and larger the higher up in the hills she drove.</p>
<p>Jade pulls up at the end of the street, noting the increased police presence. More police than was normally needed for a simple murder, she realizes with the raise of an eyebrow. Already this case was <em> odd.  </em></p>
<p>The street itself was blocked off with police tape and a cop directing traffic in the intersection. The familiar dark brown curls peek out from the cop’s hat and Jade grins, grabbing her bag before slamming her car door. </p>
<p>“Kirby, please tell me you can get me closer,” she nearly begs. Because from this distance, she can’t even see the house in question, has no idea who’s been killed or why.  </p>
<p>“Detective Waithe is looking for you, actually, so you’re in luck. And you definitely won’t miss the house,” Landon says over his shoulder as Jade claps him on the back. “Can’t wait for our drinks later,” he smiles. </p>
<p>“Yeah, it’s uh - it’s going to be an experience,” she admits, biting her lip to conceal her smile because the guy was going to go up in flames before Hope Mikaelson and that certainly was a sight she wanted to see. </p>
<p>Weaving her way through the crowd of journalists already present and ducking under a line of police tape (she really needed to get a badge, but not like a police badge, but a badge badge - JADE SALVATORE, PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR), Jade finally takes in the house and her jaw drops. </p>
<p>She was standing in front of Dana Lilien’s house, the darling of Hollywood, the most sought after actress before Universal locked her into a ten-film contract. She was famous for all of the major love stories and sweeping epics that Hollywood had produced in the last decade. And she was always, always the leading lady (it was in her contract).</p>
<p>Detective Rafael Waithe is standing in a trenchcoat and fedora off to the side as Jade makes her way to him, his hands shoved in the pockets of his wrinkled slacks, his tie askew on his neck and he’s smoking a cigarette like it would give him all of the answers in the known universe. Flicking the butt and attempting but failing to straighten his tie at her approach, he rubs a hand over his head. </p>
<p>“Kirby called you? Good, good, we need you on this one. Come on,” Waithe doesn’t wait for Jade to say anything as he walks into the house, stepping through yet another line of police tape and holding it up for Jade to pass under. The house was immaculate, or it had been. Mirrors and glass vases in the entrance hall were all smashed, the glass-like pinpricks of thousands of tiny diamonds covering the marble floor. </p>
<p>“This doesn’t look like a burglary because all of the diamonds are still here, Waithe,” Jade remarks, stepping through the glass as it crunches under her heels. </p>
<p>“That’s because it isn’t,” he says cryptically, taking a couple of stairs down from the foyer to yet another living room featuring a wraparound couch and massive bar that led to a backyard that Jade knew was larger than her entire apartment. Jade pauses, the smell of stale alcohol and the remnants of a party all around her before Waithe nods with understanding. </p>
<p>“There was a party here last night. A-list only, you had to have a password to enter. Totally hush-hush. There were traces of all kinds of drugs on the tabletops when we got our techs in here.” </p>
<p>“So how did you hear about it?” Jade asks, taking a pen out of her bag to peek underneath a pair of lace underwear stuck to the back of the couch. </p>
<p>“Housekeeper called in the murder this morning,” Waithe says slowly, gesturing to the kitchen where a small woman with a tear-stained face was standing with a mug of coffee in her hands, speaking to two uniformed officers. </p>
<p>“I’m not seeing signs of a murder, just a party,” Jade replies, as if she’s bored and she <em>was</em>. Because this was just looking like some rich actress had gone on a bender and couldn’t handle her alcohol. So why the increased police attention?</p>
<p>“Follow me upstairs, Salvatore,” Waithe says, shoving his hands in his pockets before he takes another turn around the large room, his eyes traveling over the walls, looking for something. Jade watches him, an eyebrow raised before he climbs the small steps and then makes his way toward the sweeping spiral staircase. </p>
<p>Once upstairs, Jade finds herself in a long hallway framed with black-and-white movie posters all featuring Dana opposite a traditionally handsome man. These were the movies that had made Dana into the most sought after woman, the most sought after actress for nearly a decade. Jade remembered her teenage years going to the drive-ins and watching Dana in all manner of roles - her quick wit and humor with her good looks and acting chops meant she was a shoo-in for the Oscars every year. And sure enough, a bookcase showed off her three Oscars, the gold sparkling in the dim morning light. </p>
<p>Waithe takes two pairs of latex gloves out of his blazer pocket, throwing a pair at Jade as they walk in the master bedroom’s doors. Nothing looks amiss upon first glance, but maybe that’s the problem? It’s then that Jade glances at the bed and the scene fully comes into focus.</p>
<p>Dana Lilien, glamorous even in death, is posed on her bed as if sleeping, one arm bent over the edge of the bed, a gun on the magnificent rug as if dropped from her right hand. </p>
<p>Jade approaches slowly, notes the blood splatter along her headboard. The red is too violent, too dark in the bright-white morning light of the room. Dana’s eyes are open and her lips are parted in surprise but you can’t mistake her beauty. You can’t mistake the smile and the eyes that men and women lusted after for years.</p>
<p>“So surveillance feeds have been cut around the property, which could either explain the secrecy surrounding the property or the killing,” Waithe explains, as Jade steps closer. She leans over Dana’s body, noting the lack of gunshot residue on the webbing between her index finger and her thumb, the clean spray of blood along the pillows and the wall. This wasn’t a suicide, although it sure as hell was set up to look like one. But it was sloppy, rushed. And yet, the killer had the time to pose the body. </p>
<p>“What are you thinking, Salvatore?” Waithe asks Jade, watching her eyes scan the body, her mind tossing out scenario after scenario as she looks at the scene. </p>
<p>“Your murder weapon is that .38 revolver, clean shot through and through, because your bullet is in that wall,” Jade explains, pointing to the embedded bullet before pulling the gloves off to hand them back to Waithe. She crosses her arms over her chest, tapping her heeled foot on the ground. </p>
<p>“The killer used a silencer, and removed it from the gun, if I had to put my money on it, because there was a party going on and yeah, it was probably loud, but not loud enough to mask a gunshot. ”</p>
<p>Landon appears in the doorway, holding something, knocking on the frame as Jade’s eyes slide over him as he interrupts her train of thought. He at least has the grace to look a bit guilty. </p>
<p>“We tracked down one of the paparazzi that’s always posted outside of Dana’s house and after a bit of convincing, he handed over some shots he took last night. Check out these ones of Elizabeth Saltzman leaving the party in a rush at about one in the morning. She looks spooked, boss,” Landon hands the photos to Detective Waithe, and he whistles before passing them to Jade.</p>
<p>“Care to pay Lizzie Saltzman a visit? She’s the one who had the most to benefit from Dana’s death. It’s never an easy pill to swallow being number two in Hollywood.” </p>
<p>Jade’s eyes take in Lizzie Saltzman, her head ducked in the light from the camera, a hand over her face, and a look of guilt etched all over her features.</p>
<p>Oh, she definitely needed to talk to Lizzie Saltzman. </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>soundtrack to this chapter courtesy of stella and the storm and charlotte lawrence</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It isn't hard to track down Lizzie Saltzman. She's shooting a film on Paramount’s lot that wasn’t scheduled to wrap for a few weeks and it had been the talk of the town for all of the wrong reasons. The film was over budget and Lizzie’s costar, Sebastian Dumas, had frequently shown up to set drunk, lashing out at the director and anyone in his way when he forgot his lines. The papers had called it a slow-moving trainwreck and Lizzie’s career hung in the balance. A well-timed murder and the death of Hollywood’s golden girl could propel Lizzie to the top spot, the empty throne hers for the taking.  </p><p>Jade puts in a call to a production assistant that she had slept with a couple of times, Wendy, smirking into the phone as she asks for her name to be thrown on the list to get on the lot with the promise of dinner at the end of the week. Their arrangement had always been casual, which was preferable to Jade because her job kept her out at all hours of the day and night, and having someone waiting for her at home would only get in the way. Wendy never seemed to have minded. </p><p>Jade gives her name to the security guard, who looks her over once and then again, while she smiles sweetly from behind sunglasses before waving her through. Waithe was sure, and Jade couldn’t agree more, that one sight of the police banging on her trailer door would spook Lizzie Saltzman and definitely spook the executives and the studio. Jade preferred the more tactical approach - a pretty blonde in a pencil skirt with a notebook wouldn’t raise any red flags. It was times like these that she appreciated the ability to blend into the background as a woman, which was sometimes all she needed to get the answers she wanted. </p><p>Parking behind Stage 10 and making sure that her car wasn’t about to be towed, Jade touches up her hair in her rearview mirror, reapplying her lipstick and attempting to smooth out the bags under her eyes. Three hours of sleep after her night with Jamie (it had to be Jamie, right?) had left her running on fumes, but this case was energizing her in ways usually only sex could. She had stopped at a cafe after leaving Dana’s mansion to down a shot of espresso. The sense of unease about this case was making her anxious and normally she had a much better handle on her emotions. There was just <em>something</em> different about this murder — this was more than a squabble gone wrong between two Hollywood starlets.</p><p>Jade navigates her way through the cast trailers quickly, finding Lizzie Saltzman’s at the end, reaching out to knock on the door that opens right as Jade raises a fist, a pretty brunette tumbling down the two steps from surprise and landing straight into Jade’s arms. She catches her, bridal-style, nearly tearing her own skirt in the process, but at least the woman was safe. </p><p>“Jamie?” Jade asks, arms sliding around the brunette’s waist as she sets her right on her feet. For the split second that the woman was in Jade’s arms, Jade smells peony and vanilla and the memory of last night comes rushing back to her. She sees herself and the brunette in a haze of cigarette smoke, gin, and sweat, setting her heart on fire and her stomach swooping. </p><p>Elizabeth Saltzman, a vision in a deep green silk robe and white bikini, pokes her head out of the door a moment later in all of the commotion, curls bouncing perfectly and her lips a delicate shade of red. The woman from this morning, well, actually, the woman from last night was right in front of her, dusting off her own skirt and checking her shoes for signs of a broken heel. She had clearly been leaving Elizabeth Saltzman’s trailer in a rush. </p><p>Jade feels her mouth go dry because god, she had known that the brunette was gorgeous in the dim light of the club but her hair in the sunlight is sparkling like mahogany, her eyes flashing brightly with shades of golds and green in the irises and Jade can feel her knees go weak, her palms sweating. </p><p>“It’s Josie, actually,” the brunette smiles, getting her bearings far more quickly than Jade, who stands staring with her mouth open, running a hand through curls that Jade had thoroughly tousled the night before. “Josie <em> Saltzman.</em> You didn’t seem to have a problem remembering it last night though,” she adds with a wink and Elizabeth laughs loudly. Jade had nearly forgotten she was there. </p><p>“So, she’s the reason you didn’t come home last night, dear sister,” the movie star smiles, white teeth gleaming behind the red lipstick. So they were sisters. Jade could see the resemblance in their smiles, but that’s where the similarities stopped because while Josie had brown hair and brown eyes (gorgeous, gorgeous brown eyes), Elizabeth Saltzman was fair-skinned, blonde and had blue eyes that sparkled in the afternoon light. </p><p>“I never thought I would see you again,” Jade begins, forgetting why she was there and what she was doing because the perks of picking up women and abandoning them in the morning meant that run-ins like this never happened. Especially run-ins with potential suspects in murder cases. </p><p>“Of course, you didn’t,” Josie replies, somewhat curtly, the sparkle in her eyes vanishing. “What are you doing here?” </p><p>“You — your sister, actually,” Jade looks away from Josie to glance over to Elizabeth, still standing in the doorway of her trailer with a hand on her hip and a smirk on her face. “I’m Jade. Jade Salvatore. I’m a private investigator and — actually, can we have this conversation in your trailer?” Jade needed to get a handle on her emotions and damn fast. </p><p>“What conversation is that?” Josie asks, drawing up next to Jade, who glances back and forth between the two women. “As Lizzie’s manager and publicist, this could concern me.” </p><p>“Like I said, we should probably have this conversation in your trailer,” Jade replies, her jaw set in an attempt to better control the situation. Lizzie looks to Josie who nods minutely, before stepping back from the doorway with a sweep of her arms, her robe swirling around her legs.  </p><p>Jade holds a hand out for Josie to take the steps ahead of her, eyes firmly glued to Josie’s ass as she steps up, following the Saltzmans into the trailer and taking an open seat opposite the two women, flipping open the pages of her notebook. </p><p>“Get on with it,” Lizzie snaps as Josie reaches over to smack her sister on the arm. </p><p>Jade raises her head and runs a hand through her hair. “Dana Lilien was found dead this morning in her home off of Tower Grove Drive.  I’m not at liberty to discuss how she was killed, but she was killed in a violent manner consistent with homicide, and we are treating the investigation around her death as such.”</p><p>Jade pauses, glancing back and forth from Josie to Lizzie. Josie’s biting her lip, the news washing over her as she sits with her hands in her lap, while Lizzie’s chin trembles, her jaw clenching and eyes flashing angrily before she groans. </p><p>“That <em> bitch </em> Dana would use her death as a way to steal the narrative away from my movie and toward herself, what a conniving cu—”</p><p>“She’s dead, Lizzie!” Josie interjects before Lizzie Saltzman’s expletives burst forth from her mouth. The blonde stands up, knocking over a glass in her haste, a scream tearing from her throat as she paces in the trailer, heels clacking against the tile floor.  </p><p>“That <em> dead </em> bitch Dana, then!” </p><p>“Would you care to comment on your whereabouts last night, Miss Saltzman?” Jade asks, trying to steer the conversation away from Lizzie’s outburst. </p><p>“I’m sure you already know that I was there,” Lizzie says, her chest heaving and the beginnings of a panic attack written clearly on her face. “Or else you wouldn’t be here.” So, Lizzie Saltzman was more than a pretty face. </p><p>“I left around 12:45 or 1:00 in the morning because it was a terribly dull party. You know how stars are — it’s all about them and once you get twenty of us in a room, all of the oxygen gets sucked out from the sheer size of everyone’s ego. All of the big players were there — Alaric, Milton Greasley, Emma Tig, Kaleb Hawkins. Sebastian knew that he couldn't show his face after everything that's been written about him, but who knows? He could have been there after I left.”</p><p>“And you went straight home after leaving Dana’s?” Jade asks, scribbling the names as Lizzie rattles them off. </p><p>“I expected Josie to be there when I got home, but it seems that she went out on the town and decided to have some fun on a Friday night,” Lizzie’s eyes glint dangerously as she looks between Josie and Jade, licking her lips. </p><p>“Lizzie,” Josie nearly growls, her teeth clenched. </p><p>“Can anyone else corroborate your claim that you left when you say you did?” Jade asks quickly, hoping to save Josie the embarrassment of the gleam in Lizzie’s eyes. </p><p>“You can speak with my driver, but why —” she pauses then barrels forward. “You don’t — do you think that I had anything to do with Dana’s death?” Lizzie stops pacing, a hand to her forehead as the color drains from her face.</p><p>“That’s why she’s here, Lizzie. If news of cops sniffing around here in connection with Dana’s death got out...” Josie trails off, speaking slowly as the wheels of her mind turn, mapping out the ways she could spin the story to avoid Lizzie’s name being splashed all over the gossip rags. Josie was smart too, she had to be as Lizzie’s publicist, always one step ahead of the story and any potential threats to Lizzie’s career. </p><p>Jade was drawn to her, she couldn’t deny it, her hands reaching out to her almost instinctively, but sleeping with a gorgeous woman was one thing. Sleeping with a gorgeous woman while the LAPD thinks her sister could have murdered someone else was an entirely different situation. </p><p>“Technically, I’m not a cop,” Jade smiles, an answer at the ready. “And we understand the sensitivities, which is why I’m here and not Detective Waithe. It’s not every day an Oscar winner is murdered. But you’re gonna need to give me more than just that the party was boring, Lizzie. Dana was a clear competitor. With her out of the picture…”</p><p>“I would never stoop so low as to murder my competition and how dare you even insinuate such a thing!”</p><p>“Lizzie, they have to ask these questions,” Josie interrupts, standing and placing a hand on her sister’s arm. “And it’s much better for your public image that they just sent Jade.” Josie turns to smile at Jade, but Lizzie’s jaw is set as she glares, backing up against the kitchen counter as she places a hand on her hip. “If word of this gets out…” </p><p>“She’s accusing me of murder,” Lizzie replies breezily, her tone light despite the anger in her eyes. </p><p>“She’s asking you to try and remember as much as possible about Dana’s party.”</p><p>Lizzie whirls around, glaring at Jade. “None of this better leak to the press. We all have secrets in this town. I’d hate to spill <em>yours</em>,” she glances between Josie and Jade again, her implications obvious. </p><p>Residual panic runs through Jade, just for a second, before she focuses. “The ease with which you’re willing to throw your sister under the bus doesn’t exactly convince me that you’re not capable of murder, Miss Saltzman.”</p><p>“I would never,” Lizzie begins, enraged, before Josie places herself between them, glancing down at Jade. </p><p>“She wouldn’t,” she says to Jade. “Lizzie, sit down. I’ll make you a cup of tea and you can tell Jade everything you remember. The faster she and the cops find out who did this, the better for all of us.”</p><p>Lizzie taps her foot against the floor, staying silent before making up her mind. “I may have yelled at Dana before leaving. There was a publicist there —  Alyssa — something. Alyssa Chang, maybe. How she scored an invite to Dana’s, I don’t know. Probably snuck her way in with the help. She told me that Dana was behind the vicious rumor last year that I had taken a trip south of the border to <em>enhance </em>certain parts of my body in order to score better roles, which couldn’t be farther from the truth,” Lizzie declares with a smirk, as Jade’s eyes trail up and down Lizzie’s body.</p><p>The actress doesn’t waver under Jade’s heavy gaze, allows her smirk to grow larger as Jade looks Lizzie up and down from head to toe. Jade glances over to Josie, who had been opening a cupboard to grab a mug but seemed to have stopped midair, dropping the mug into the sink, the porcelain shattering. </p><p>“Like what you see?” Lizzie teases, ignoring Josie’s scoff.  Jade feels her cheeks burn, not from admiring Lizzie’s assets because, come on, she was only human, but while she couldn’t deny that Lizzie was gorgeous, there was something about Josie’s quiet beauty that made her all the more intriguing. </p><p>“You’re not my type, Miss Saltzman,” she finally settles on, and the displeasure on Lizzie’s face is so worth it when she sees Josie smile softly out of the corner of her eye. What must it be like to live under Lizzie Saltzman’s shadow? That’s most certainly not the question she’s here to answer, she reminds herself. But it was definitely one she would be interested in learning in time.</p><p>“So, you got into a shouting match with Dana before you stormed out? Hurling insults at each other that everyone at the party heard?” Jade asks, in the silence after her statement, still watching Josie’s movements. </p><p>“Dana always liked her drama in the public eye. There also might have been some broken glass in the foyer from a few vases or ten being thrown,” Lizzie admits with a roll of her eyes. “Dana favors projectiles rather than words when she’s in a mood. And if those didn’t work, she had a mean right hook. Thankfully, she had a lot of whiskey in her system and was feeling a bit more throw-y and less punchy.” Lizzie’s words strike Jade because they speak of someone still alive, not someone who this morning was dead in a pool of her own blood. </p><p>The more and more Lizzie talked to her, the more she believed the actress’s alibi, despite the obvious holes in her story because she left alone, she returned home alone, and spent the rest of the evening alone. She would have to follow up with the guests and Lizzie’s driver before she was ruled out completely, checking times that Lizzie arrived and left the party and if Lizzie had taken any trips after the one home from Dana’s. Lizzie wasn’t in the clear yet, but she was definitely looking less and less culpable.  </p><p>“Are we done here?” Lizzie asks impatiently, glancing at the cuticles on her left hand before looking back to Jade as Josie wordlessly handed her a mug of what smelled like mint tea. </p><p>“Yeah, I think I can handle it from here,” Jade says with a smile, getting to her feet as she makes eye contact with Josie once more, a warm smile on the brunette’s face. </p><p>Checking her phone, Jade curses under her breath. Getting from Studio City back to Silverlake during rush hour was going to be absolute hell, but she couldn’t show up to Klaus’ looking like a cop. Especially since she was going to be in the presence of a fucking cop. </p><p>“I gotta see a man about a debt I owe. Thank you for your time, Miss Saltzman. I’ll be in touch if we need more.” Jade smiles as Lizzie extends her hand, shaking it softly before she turns and rushes to the back of the trailer, slamming a door. </p><p>“Can I walk you to your car?” Josie asks, despite the fact that she’s already following Jade, shrugging on a blazer of her own — red, to match her lipstick from the previous evening. Her lipstick and her makeup were near flawless now, Jade observes, her heart hammering in her chest. </p><p>They leave the trailer, walking slowly and Jade rubs the back of her neck. </p><p>“If I had any idea —” she begins before Josie interrupts her, her voice stronger than anything Jade had heard during the entire conversation with Lizzie.</p><p>“— you wouldn’t have come within ten feet of me. I’m well aware of who my sister is, Jade.”  Josie seems upset even as she says it, eyes glancing away from Jade as the blonde turns to face her. </p><p>“That’s not what I was going to say. If I had any idea that I would have seen you again, I wouldn’t have left so abruptly this morning. I would have made you breakfast or something. ” </p><p>“You couldn’t even remember my name, but you would have cooked me a meal? You must say that to all the girls,” Josie teases, but the hint of sadness that creased her eyebrows seems gone and Jade smiles. </p><p>“It worked on you, didn’t it?” </p><p>“I think the gin worked on me,” Josie retorts, her hand brushing Jade’s as they walk. Jade nearly grabs it with her pinky, but she refrains. The blonde feels her smile grow because she was being foolish, acting foolish and smitten when her mind needed to be clear to understand the ins and outs of this ridiculous case. </p><p>They reach Jade’s car far too quickly and the blonde feels an unmistakable ache in her chest at having to say goodbye to Josie for the second time. The brunette pulls a card out of her blazer though, before Jade has the chance to say something stupid like <em>we should get dinner sometime </em>or <em>come home with me</em>. </p><p>No, she absolutely can’t date the sister of a murder suspect. Even if said sister looks <em>far </em>too good in a white button-up and black pumps. If Jade was being honest with herself, which she wasn’t because this could only go from bad to worse, Josie looked good with nothing at all on. </p><p>“You’ll keep me updated so that I can handle the press?” Josie asks, as Jade pockets the card. “I don’t want any surprises.”</p><p>“Of course,” Jade says, swallowing deeply, her heart in her throat. Josie smiles, ducking her head to give Jade a kiss on her cheek, her lips warm and lingering as Josie whispers — “don’t be a stranger,” in her ear. The hot breath sends chills up and down Jade’s spine, her eyes closing briefly as she wonders about the feasibility of a quickie in the back of her car.</p><p>Josie takes the decision away from her as she spins on her heels with a wave and a wink. The brunette struts, actually struts away toward Lizzie’s trailer as Jade stands, mouth agape. Her cheek burns from where Josie’s lips had touched it, a fleeting nothing of a kiss that somehow had seared its way into her memory. </p><p>Jade gets into her car, hands on the steering wheel to stop her racing heart, mind blissfully blank but for a pair of brown eyes and a smile that could light up a room. She was so fucking screwed.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The sky opens up again, thunderclaps and lightning like strobe lights in the night, as Jade ducks into Klaus’. She is thankfully spared from the soaking downpour. A moment later and she would have been drenched stepping into the club, but her hair was still curled, her lipstick was still in place, a navy dress hung on her body like a suit of armor, and she needed a drink. Or ten. </p><p>Weaving her way past the dance floor, Jade jostles through the crowd, a haze of smoke hanging in the air like a jungle mist. The crowd is rowdy tonight, usual for a Saturday, but there is a feeling about it that makes Jade uneasy. A gorgeous brunette with the raspy voice of an angel croons into the microphone on stage, her hands wrapped around the metal mic stand, accompanied by a small jazz band and Hope really did know how to give a place ambiance and mood, didn’t she?</p><p>There was a reason this place was always packed. Dark corners one could duck into. A wide stage for dancing. Booths where deals were cut and fortunes were won or lost. Jade was sure that there had to be illegal gambling going on somewhere on the property, but Hope had always assured her that she would never stoop that low for money. Or clout. </p><p>She signals to Hope as she gets to the bar, a smile and a wink thrown her way in reply. Hope grabs two tumblers, pouring three healthy fingers of whiskey, a couple of dashes of bitters, sugar cubes and two large ice cubes, one for each glass, garnishing the drinks with a flourish that involved a knife, an orange peel, and a flame that had come out of nowhere. Setting the drinks in front of Jade, the smell of rain and bad cologne permeates the air as Landon materializes at her side, looking like a drenched ostrich.</p><p>“Perfect timing,” Jade smiles, realizing that Landon has already buried his own grave by being born male, but showing up looking like he had just crawled out of a mud pit made this easy. Almost too easy. She couldn’t wait to see him crash and burn in front of Hope. </p><p>“Hope,” Jade says again, calling the bartender back over to her, slipping her a twenty for the drinks. Hope pockets the money in the lining of her bra with a smile. “This is Landon Kirby. We work together sometimes. Landon, Hope Mikaelson. She owns the place.” </p><p>Hope shakes Landon’s hand, also wet, over the bar, shooting Jade a look that the blonde answers with a roll of her eyes. Men. He stutters out a greeting, something along the lines of “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Hope,” and Jade internally groans. </p><p>She grabs her drink and takes a sip if only to ward off the second-hand embarrassment emanating from the cop. The whiskey burns in the best way possible and damn, Hope Mikaelson knew to make a good old fashioned. She tunes out Landon’s pitiful attempts at flirting as she gazes around the bar, leaning back against it, taking in the clientele. She barely makes out Lizzie and Josie Saltzman in the back corner, at a table shrouded in near darkness save for a small candle, and nearly chokes on her drink, earning a slap on her back from Hope. </p><p>“Easy, tiger,” she laughs, “you finally spotted the starlet and the sister then?” </p><p>“You knew Elizabeth Saltzman was here?” Jade gasps, watching as she sees Hope’s carefully crafted mask falter for a moment before it slips back into place. </p><p>“Of course I did. She requested a table at the back so she wouldn’t be bothered. It’s not every day that we get Hollywood royalty in here.” Hope tilts her head, following Jade’s gaze. “She’s quite something.”</p><p>“Yes, it is, Hope. You’re the talk of the town,” Jade retorts, shaking her head. “What do you know about her sister, then? They’re attached at the hip, aren’t they?” </p><p>“Josie?” Hope pauses, chooses her words carefully before answering. “If Lizzie’s the face, Josie’s the brains of the operation. She negotiated a five-picture deal with MGM before Lizzie was even old enough to drink and then ten more after that. All roads go through her. She’s not to be messed with, even if she looks like you could walk all over her.”</p><p>No, you couldn’t walk all over her, Jade thinks, remembering the dexterity with how Josie handled her earlier conversation with Lizzie. And even before that, Josie had held her own with Jade, asserting herself in delightful ways that had kept Jade guessing and guessing. </p><p>Landon, always slow on the uptake, follows Hope’s eyes toward the pair. Lizzie is gesticulating with her hands, engrossed in a story while Josie sips on champagne, looking bored. “Elizabeth Saltzman is here?! But didn’t you just—” </p><p>Jade silences Landon with a look as she moves back towards the bar, turning to glance over her shoulder once more, eyes locking and holding with Josie. Memories of earlier flash through her mind and she feels the phantom ghost of a kiss on her cheek, whispered curses in her ear from the night before, Josie spread wide open underneath her, writhing and clenching the sheets in her hand, and fuck, this alcohol was supposed to make her forget Josie Saltzman, not draw her closer to her like a moth to the flame. </p><p>“So are you gonna tell me anything you know about Dana Lilien?” Hope asks, eyes sparkling as she gazes at Landon. Jade turns back around quickly, watching Landon and the moment she knew he would break. He was putty in Hope’s hands, but Jade needed to keep her wits about her for both of their sakes. The case was too fresh to be ruffling any feathers by spreading news all around town, even to one of Jade’s closest friends. And she couldn’t afford to continually be distracted by Josie Saltzman, who seemed determined to show up at the worst moments. </p><p>“Nice try,” Jade responds before Landon has a chance to blow the case. “You know we can’t comment on an open investigation.” </p><p>“It’s been all over the papers today and in the news today. The gossip rags are having a field day. However, you did just confirm that you’re involved, so one point for me,” Hope smiles, clearly proud of herself. </p><p>“You’re ridiculous. Keep that fact to yourself if you know what’s good for you. I know people,” Jade mock threatens, wiggling her eyebrows.  </p><p>“I’d like to see you try to off me,” Hope levels back with a smirk. Jade knows the brunette can take care of herself, had for years, and one of the reasons why her club and business has thrived is because Hope was the type to know people too, toeing the line delicate line with the police and the seedier parts of this town with a dexterity that would have made her dad proud. After his death, she had vowed to clean up the reputation of the bar, but those connections she had forged were always handy in a pinch. </p><p>“Enough shop talk for one night, but I will get it out of you sooner or later, missy,” Hope laughs, pouring three shots for them. The trio cheers, downing the liquid as Jade feels her chest burn. Ugh, gin. Why was it always gin with Hope?</p><p>Swallowing the rest of her drink in one gulp as she blinks away tears, Jade chances a glance back at Josie with a smile before turning back to the bar where Hope has walked away to make drinks for a group of rowdy guys celebrating a bachelor party. Jade feels the alcohol dull her senses, if only just, but it doesn’t quench the want in her system. The spark of recognition burns as she sees Josie watching her, drinking her champagne slowly. </p><p>Alarm bells are ringing in Jade’s ear and the distance she sought to put between herself and Josie feels like a dare, a challenge. Her breath quickens in anticipation, in memory. She itches for a cigarette, feels the need curling in her stomach, and abandons Landon, who was unsuccessfully trying to call Hope back to his side of the bar. </p><p>Her dress is too tight, the sleeves clinging to her as she pulls at the material by her thighs to walk faster, out the front door with a nod to the bouncer. Thank god the rain had stopped, even if one glance at the clouds heralded more on the way. Heels slapping against the concrete, she ducks behind a small alleyway, pulling a pack out of her clutch and fumbling with a lighter before a flame appears at her side. </p><p>“Josie,” Jade exhales, nearly dropping the cigarette, but lighting it as she ducks her head closer to where Josie holds the flame. Jade notes that Josie’s eyes sparkle in the light of the fire - greens and golds and amber. She realized it the night before, when Jade picked her up at the Mystic, another bar in town, but up close again, she feels like the air between them is heavy and charged. She inhales Josie's perfume, her senses in overdrive as she watches the way Josie's eyes move from Jade’s face to her chest and down her legs, traveling slowly over miles of soft skin. </p><p>“You cleaned up well from this afternoon,” Josie comments, mouth dry, dark brown irises meeting Jade’s once more.</p><p>“Of all the gin joints in all the towns…” Jade murmurs, watching Josie light her own cigarette, exhaling upwards with a shake in her breath. Jade followed her gaze up the column of Josie’s neck, salivating. She’s assailed by images entirely unbidden but thoroughly pleasurable - her lips moving slowly, biting and sucking softly against the pulse point on Josie’s throat as the sun rose all around them. </p><p>“How were we to know that you were going to be here?” Josie asks flippantly, huffing her breath out through her mouth. “You seem to know Hope Mikaelson well,” Josie trails off, leaving Jade to finish the sentence. It was a fishing expedition, a lure dangled in front of her. </p><p>“In my line of work, it helps to know as many people as you can. I’m sure you would agree.” </p><p>“So, is Hope a work friend? Or a personal friend?” Josie asks her, and Jade has never thought that jealousy looks good on women, but she might make an exception for the dangerous glitter in Josie’s eyes.</p><p>“Unless you count the fact that she makes the best drinks in town, she’s a work friend. I don’t mix business with pleasure. Normally.” </p><p>Josie looks pleased with the answer, her eyes briefly flashing over to Jade before back down to her feet scuffing the soles of her heels. She’s in a dress as well, and it's a far cry from the suit this afternoon, but Jade watches her unabashedly, letting the cigarette burn to ash in her fingers. Josie’s dress is a deep green, nearly the color of an emerald, with her hair cascading over one shoulder in voluminous curls, no doubt aided by the leftover humidity in the air from the storms this morning and earlier. She’s resplendent, effortlessly gorgeous. </p><p>“Is my sister still a suspect?” </p><p>Jade laughs and something inside of her settles low in her stomach because the way that Josie’s looking at her with her dark eyes shining in the night makes a chill run up and down her spine.“Didn’t I just tell you that I don’t mix business with pleasure?” </p><p>A pout and Jade feels her composure crumbling. “You can’t tell me anything?” </p><p>“And risk destroying this case before it gets off the ground? Letting Dana’s murderer walk free? What if he - or she - has a taste for the glitz and glamour of Hollywood and wants to go after the rich and famous? Lizzie could be next.” Jade’s deflecting, and poorly, but she’s grasping at self-control as if it was a liferaft being tossed about in a hurricane. </p><p>“You don’t think it’s Lizzie,” Josie summarizes, and Jade feels her cheeks burn. She’s never had the best poker face when it came to gorgeous women. Actually, that was a lie. She did, she just <em>clearly </em>didn’t when it came to Josie Saltzman. “Don’t look at me like that. You’re not talking about her like you would a suspect.”</p><p>Jade inhales to buy herself at least that second, her cigarette forgotten in her hand. “I suspect that your sister would probably admit it if she had killed Dana. Demand a parade in her honor, statues erected to show off her triumphs. Scream it from the top of the Hollywood sign. But I’m not discounting her, because this is an ongoing investigation. She’s hiding something.” </p><p>“We all are, Jade,” Josie answers, and the fire in Jade’s veins burns brighter. It had to be the alcohol taking its toll. It couldn’t be the way Josie was looking at her, her composure being chipped away bit by bit, word by word, second by second. Josie must know how she’s affecting Jade. She has to feel it too, the electricity sparking between them.  </p><p>“Finding secrets is my job.” </p><p>“And I’m sure you’re excellent at it,” Josie purrs, a satisfied smile on her face. She’s obviously happy with the outcome of their conversation. She should be, Jade’s already said far too much. She’ll regret it in the morning. Or, she might not. </p><p>“So, now that the business portion of tonight is over, are you going to take me home?” Josie flicks the butt of her cigarette away and Jade does the same, dropping it to the ground and stamping it out with her heel. </p><p>“What about Lizzie?” Jade manages, running a hand through her hair as Josie takes a step toward her, her smile wide. The word dangerous flashes in Jade’s mind as Josie looks at her, her smile absolutely sinful. </p><p>“She’s a big girl. She can take care of herself.” Josie runs a finger down Jade’s cheek, coasting over the column of her neck and across the rose of her collarbones as she pushes Jade up against the brick wall behind her. Jade exhales shakily, hands grabbing at Josie’s hips. </p><p>“Someone could see us,” she warns, even as she grazes her lips against Josie’s, tastes the remnants of the cigarette and the champagne from before on them. </p><p>“Looks like you have two options then, Miss Salvatore,” Josie replies against Jade’s lips, her tongue tracing against Jade’s lower lip. “You can either take me here,” Josie pauses to glance at their surroundings, “or in your bed.” </p><p>“Car. Now,” Jade says and it comes out all raspy and strained. Her chest rises and falls against Josie’s, fighting against her own better instincts because a fuck in an alley would be so damn hot, but she tears herself away from the brunette, fishing inside of her clutch for her keys as Josie grabs her hand, her laughter filling the air. </p><p>She may be trying to solve a murder case, but Josie Saltzman was going to be the death of her.</p>
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<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>note the change of rating.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Jade directs Josie to her car, backing her up against the frame as she unlocks and opens Josie’s door, a kiss pressed to the underside of Josie’s chin, right at her jawline. She palms at Josie’s cleavage over the material of the dress, loves the way it plunges down her neck in a sharp V as Josie moans, swallowing deeply as Jade kisses on the exposed skin, arms around her neck.</p><p>Jade moves her hands lower, gripping Josie’s hips, directing her into the car before stumbling toward the driver’s side. </p><p>“Are you sure you’re okay to drive?” Josie asks, as Jade nods her head, pushing the button for the ignition.  </p><p>“It’s not the alcohol I’m worried about,” she admits, a hand reaching out to grab Josie’s, fingertips ghosting the tops of Josie’s thighs as the brunette clasps her fingers.</p><p>Josie’s dress has ridden up as she sits, her legs crossed and Jade wills herself to stay focused on the road. Josie, however, seems to have other plans. She moves Jade’s hand between her legs and Jade can feel the slick wetness already there, her mouth going dry because Josie is so wet, drenching the poor excuse for a thong that she’s wearing. </p><p>“Do you want me to crash?” Jade croaks out, left hand firmly grasping the steering wheel as she turns to look over at Josie, who is biting her lip innocently, eyes forward.</p><p>“Of course not, safety first,” Josie jokes as she moves Jade’s hand back atop her thigh. “Just, uh, a little teaser of <em> coming </em> attractions.”</p><p>They make it to Jade’s apartment in one piece and Jade thanks all the gods in the heavens as she pulls open Josie’s door, extending a hand to grab Josie out of the front seat. </p><p>She uncurls herself like a lioness stalking her prey and Jade isn’t sure if she’s going to survive this night. Josie’s all legs and lithe movements and it’s going to take a miracle to make it the hundred yards to her doorstep from the elevator if Josie is going to keep looking at her like that. The sparkle in her eyes, a flash of which she had seen earlier, has grown into a spark of <em>something</em>. The kind of something that settles low in Jade’s stomach and has her nerves tingling. </p><p>They step into the foyer, and Jade nods once to the doorman who winks at her. Josie’s hand is in hers and she’s behaving...for now.</p><p>The elevator ride up to her apartment is agony, pure agony. She can feel Josie next to her, radiating an energy that she wants to bottle up and keep forever, but her face wears an impassive mask. A smirk even, as her thumb rubs circles over the back of Jade’s hand. </p><p>Jade makes the decision quickly. She swiftly turns to kiss Josie, pressing her against the back of the elevator, one hand at her hips, and the other at the back of her neck to pull her towards her, their lips barely a hair’s breadth apart as Josie’s breath scorches across her lips.</p><p>The elevator bell dings and it vibrates through Jade’s clouded mind. Cold water rushes through her veins, but it does nothing to douse the fire in her veins, as she recovers quickly, walking towards her apartment door with Josie in tow.</p><p>Jade fumbles with her keys, dropping them, once, twice as she wills the metal into the lock. Josie is at her back, eyes darting around, but there is no one with them in the hallway, so she runs her hands up and down Jade’s waist, body flush with Jade’s, her breath warm on Jade’s ear as she whispers, “I thought you were good with your hands.” </p><p>“I’m great with my hands,” Jade retorts, glancing over to Josie who hovers right next to her face. All she has to do is just lean in a bit farther and their lips would touch. Her eyes close of their own accord as she pulls away, blinking slowly as Josie’s words wash over her.  </p><p>“I think you might need to remind me.” </p><p>An exhale and the key slips into the lock, fucking finally, as Jade opens her door. Josie is on her right as it closes with a slam. She takes Jade’s hands, dragging them above her head as her keys and clutch are dropped to the floor. Josie kisses her like she’s never been kissed before, her tongue moving into Jade’s mouth as she bites on Jade’s lower lip and god, it has been less than twenty-four hours without the feeling of Josie underneath her and it feels entirely too long. Jade moans into the feeling, can’t help the noise that breaks from her throat as it flies into Josie’s mouth. </p><p>Jade has never been one to have the same woman twice. It isn’t how she operates. It would be too messy, too many strings attached. She meets them at a bar or a club, talks to them briefly to find out the bare minimum of information, and takes them home. Simple as that. Getting attached can only lead to trouble. </p><p>Josie, however - everything about Josie screamed danger, even as Jade sinks into her touch. It’s not just the case. It’s Josie herself and how Jade feels around her. She is off-kilter, anxious, terribly smitten, which could only spell heartbreak. For Jade or for Josie, she isn’t sure.  </p><p>This woman will break her, destroy her, bit by bit leaving nothing left, and Jade realizes she can’t find it in herself to care. </p><p>“Drink?” Jade breathes into Josie’s mouth between kisses. She needs to feel the weight of the tumbler in her hand, the cool alcohol in her throat, the burn as she exhales because she swears she might combust against her front door. </p><p>“Now?” Josie responds, nails scratching down Jade’s arms. She takes the opportunity to grab the sides of Josie’s face with her free hands, spinning them so that Josie is pinned against the door, her leg thrust between Josie’s thigh. Her knee nudges against Josie’s center and it’s still so warm and wet. Josie moans into the contact, hands on Jade’s hips as Jade leans into her. It’s not enough. It’s not nearly enough and her body screams out to rip at the dress, the gorgeous dress that fits Josie like a second skin, but her brain tells her to slow down. </p><p>“I’m trying to be a good hostess,” Jade argues, tilting Josie’s head upwards to kiss down the column of Josie’s neck. The scent of jasmine overwhelms her senses and she breathes in, tasting Josie’s skin, licking Josie's pulse point. </p><p>“You weren’t this diligent last night,” Josie teases against Jade’s ear, releasing a moan as Jade bites down on her neck. </p><p>“Let me,” Josie offers, pushing Jade backward as she walks over to Jade’s counter, reaching straight for the whiskey. Jade watches her, leaning against the door, as Josie moves through the kitchen confidently until she’s found a clean glass. </p><p>She pours the drink heavily, the amber liquid sloshing in the tumbler as she walks back toward Jade. Jade reaches for the glass but Josie keeps it out of reach, pressing her body up against Jade’s. </p><p>“I said, let me,” she enunciates again, and Jade opens her mouth, letting Josie pour the drink into her waiting lips. A line drips down her chin to her neck and Josie licks it off, before setting the glass down on the entryway table by the door. </p><p>“Satisfied?” she asks, barely waiting for an answer as she kisses Jade soundly, taking advantage of Jade’s bobbing throat as she swallows the whiskey to bite her bottom lip. </p><p>Jade moans into Josie’s open mouth, arms around her neck as her own hips roll open and her legs part as much as her dress will allow. She rubs against Josie, seeking some kind of friction, so the brunette drops one of her hands to grab onto her leg, raising it up her and wrapping it around Josie’s waist, pulling them even closer together. </p><p>“Not yet,” Jade breathes, pushing Josie backward and her hand, saying, “follow me.” She wills her legs to make sure steps, afraid that she will burn up on the spot, or come up against her door frame if Josie continues to touch her like that, her fingertips setting her nerves alight. </p><p>“I know where your bedroom is,” Josie teases, but follows Jade down the long hallway. </p><p>Jade spins,  nearly tripping at the foot of her bed and Josie lightly shoves the blonde backward, falling on top of her as she sits up to grab at Josie’s hips and palm her ass. Josie straddles Jade, but stands a moment later, pulling at the top of her dress. It falls effortlessly to the floor, freeing her breasts, the fabric moving over her toned stomach, perfect hips, and flawless legs. Jade stares from the bed as Josie kicks off her heels. </p><p>“Your turn,” she breathes, finding the zipper at the neck of Jade’s dress, her tongue following the clasp, peeling it down her body slowly, the only noise between them the sound of the teeth of the zipper tearing apart, their breaths, and Jade’s heartbeat in her ears. </p><p>Josie pulls it off down Jade’s legs and she stares at her. Jade is clad only in a bra and lace underwear, her chest rising and falling. She watches Josie watch her, leaning back on her arms. Josie tugs at the waistband of her own thong, the material dropping to the floor to follow her dress. </p><p>“Come here,” Jade rasps and Josie is falling into her, knees on either side of her as she straddles her. Jade kisses Josie and its bruising, all teeth and tongue, their lipstick smudged beyond belief.  Josie wraps her arms around Jade’s neck, pulling at the pins in her hair to release the curls, scratching down her head and her neck before unclasping Jade’s bra, tossing it behind her. </p><p>Jade focuses her efforts on Josie’s breasts, free finally from the dress. She traces the lines of Josie’s body with her hands, learns the way Josie’s breathing accelerates when she trails kisses down her neck, the way she gasps Jade’s name when she grazes her teeth over Josie’s nipple, cupping her breasts in her hands. She sucks a nipple into her mouth, Josie cursing in her ears as she bites the bud, smoothing the bite with the pad of her tongue. </p><p>Turning her attention to Josie’s other breast as the brunette grinds her hips into Jade’s, she kneads at the soft swells of Josie’s breasts, lets her thumb rub over and around stiff nipples until Josie’s whimpering into her mouth and rolling her hips even faster. Jade’s hands grab and squeeze Josie’s back, moving over planes of soft skin as she continues kissing Josie’s breasts, taking each nipple into her mouth in turn, sucking and licking, trailing her tongue over the sensitive buds. She bites once, twice, teeth dragging before her tongue moves over and around Josie’s breast, worshipping Josie’s body as her nails scratch lines down her back. </p><p>She’s spending too long in one spot, but Josie doesn’t seem to be complaining if her moans are any indication, her hips canting forward in long thrusts, seeking out the friction that Jade is denying her. </p><p>“<em>Fuck</em>, Jade. I need you to touch me,” Josie is squirming now, her breathing in shallow pants. </p><p>“I am,” Jade replies, smiling against Josie’s chest, licking down her sternum.</p><p>“I mean,” Josie’s lips drag across Jade’s earlobe, biting the cartilage. “God, you know what I mean.”</p><p>“Impatient,” Jade smirks, hands moving down to Josie’s hips as she flips them. Josie lands on her back, a surprised look on her face. “Hi,” Jade smiles, her head hovering above Josie’s, whose mouth is slightly agape. She kisses her soundly, thrusting a knee between Josie’s thighs, breathing in Josie’s moan as she licks into her mouth. </p><p>She moves her lips down Josie’s neck because she wants to, needs to commit every single inch of Josie’s body to memory, and so she moves her lips over the exposed skin, kissing, sucking, leaving marks along Josie’s chest. </p><p>She slips lower down the bed, stops at Josie’s stomach and hips, sucking on soft skin above Josie’s hipbone, earning yet another groan from the brunette below her. Josie moans her name, the word slipping out from her lips, and Jade needs, needs, needs to hear Josie say her name like that again. She moves lower and circles Josie’s clit with her tongue and Josie’s body curves upwards, her head thrown back, her hair splayed out all around her. </p><p>Josie is warm and soft underneath her touch, and Jade feels addicted to the way she tastes, addicted to how she arches impossibly closer when Jade moves her tongue inside of her, addicted to the way she gasps when Jade draws patterns over her clit. She has a hand on Josie’s hip, and she reaches up and tangles their fingers together, and Jade looks up for a second, to meet Josie’s gaze, warm, and soft, and entirely focused on her.  </p><p>Jade switches between broad strokes and fast circles, one hand firmly intertwined with Josie’s, the other moving down to the soft skin of her thigh, spreading her wide. She swipes a finger of her free hand through Josie, underneath her tongue, and feels Josie’s breathing change, her grasp on Jade’s hand tightening as she plunges one finger inside of the brunette. She pulls it out slowly, eyes on Josie who is watching her, an “<em>oh yes”</em> falling from her lips. Jade adds another finger and quickens her movements, feeling Josie sink onto her, rocking her body and canting her hips, a steady rhythm building. Her tongue moves in circles, large and small, all over Josie’s clit. </p><p>“Fuck,” falls from Josie’s lips, “fuck, darling,” and Jade feels her own sex drenched with wetness. Josie becomes more breathless, her hips erratic as she gets closer. Jade’s head is swimming, watching Josie’s reaction because last night was amazing, but this feels like something so much more. They’re connected, together as one. Another thrust, curling her fingers and Josie moans loudly, the wanton noise echoing through the room as she comes. </p><p>Jade doesn’t let go of Josie’s hand during the shudders of her orgasm, lingers between her legs, leaving soft kisses, until Josie peers at her, a smile on her face, and her free hand over her eyes that has Jade’s heart doing <em> things </em>and tugs on her hand. “Come here,” she requests, her voice low and lazy. </p><p>Jade crawls up the bed, settling next to Josie as the brunette grabs her face, pulling her into a searing kiss. She licks the taste of herself off of Jade's lips and into her mouth and Jade feels dizzy with the feeling, grabbing at Josie’s hips as the brunette thrusts a thigh between Jade’s legs. </p><p>She pushes Jade onto her back, sitting up to straddle her, hands moving over Jade’s stomach, traveling toward her breasts, grabbing and cupping them before flicking her hair over her shoulder to lean down to kiss the blonde again. She grasps Jade’s nipples between two of her fingers, rolling the nipple between them, eliciting a sharp gasp from Jade that she swallows with a kiss. Josie kisses Jade’s chin, moves down her jaw, sucking kisses down the side of her throat while she works Jade’s nipples. </p><p>Her mouth takes over for one hand, sucking and biting on Jade’s breast. The blonde grinds upwards, hands grabbing at Josie’s hips, her underwear soaked. Josie takes the opportunity to travel downwards more, hands continuing to knead at Jade’s chest as she grabs the elastic with her teeth, tugging downward. </p><p>“Oh, fuck,” Jade gasps, as nails follow Josie’s lips, scratching down her stomach.  She lifts her hips to let Josie slide the lace down her legs and off, the scent of sex overwhelming Josie's senses. Josie kneels on the bed between Jade’s legs, grabbing her calves with her hands, kissing up one leg toward the center of her thigh and then starting with the other leg, lips trailing across inches of skin. She pulls Jade closer to her, throwing one of Jade’s legs over her shoulder as Jade opens herself up to Josie, the other leg spread wide. </p><p>“If you don’t touch me soon, I swear—” Jade breathes, rolling her own breast between her hands as she watches Josie. Josie’s eyes are heavy-lidded, half-closed when she licks Jade’s clit. She buries her mouth between Jade’s legs, licking a long line from top to bottom before plunging a finger inside of her, feeling Jade’s walls push against her finger — slick and hot and wet. Jade can’t help but watch as Josie closes her eyes, her head between her legs, licking her so spectacularly. Josie is devastating like this — gorgeous and sexy and Jade definitely won’t last long if Josie keeps this up. </p><p>Josie moves back up Jade’s body as the blonde lowers her leg, kissing her with Jade’s taste still on her tongue and Jade grabs Josie’s face hungrily, biting on her bottom lip. She thrusts in and out of Josie as she moves, never letting up. </p><p>“More,” Jade says shakily and Josie smiles, the effect she has on the blonde not lost on her as she kisses her cheek, her throat, licking up her neck and breathing into her ear. Josie moans as Jade does, working herself up as she pushes into Jade with a second finger and then a third, spreading her wider and plunging deep. </p><p>Josie covers Jade’s body with her own, kisses her and kisses her, keeps moving inside of her as Jade wraps her legs around Josie’s waist, pulling her impossibly closer. </p><p>Josie pins Jade’s hands together over her head with one hand and fucks her with fast, urgent movements, shifting her hand so that her thumb is circling Jade’s clit. Josie curls her fingers and Jade whines, loud and desperate, and Josie swallows the sounds with her mouth and kisses Jade, frantic and urgent, and Jade feels alive underneath Josie, her hips moving of their own accord as Josie moves in and out of her. </p><p>She’s spiraling over the edge,  breathing out Josie’s name into the kisses as spots explode behind her eyes. She’s grinding against Josie’s fingers and scratching at her back and she can almost feel her body screaming for release as it washes over her in waves, but it’s only her voice that rushes forward in a loud moan that Josie catches and swallows down. </p><p>It’s moments before she can open her eyes again, her heart rate back to normal as Josie lies next to her, grabbing at an open pack of cigarettes on the bedside table and lighting one, exhaling to the ceiling. Jade laughs, grabbing the cigarette from her as she rolls onto her stomach next to Josie. </p><p>Jade kisses Josie, and every taste is different — the smoke, the whiskey, herself — but it blends together in Jade’s mouth. It tastes like last night. It tastes like tomorrow. </p><p>“By all means, make yourself at home,” Jade teases, fingers tracing lines across Josie’s stomach. “You’re beautiful like this, you know,” she observes, passing the cigarette back, staring at Josie unabashedly. “You’re not —you aren’t wearing this armor like you were this afternoon.” </p><p>“You’re one to talk,” Josie retorts, grabbing the hand that Jade was running along Josie’s stomach and kissing the knuckles, licking a digit into her mouth. Jade feels herself grow wet again at the sight and Josie just smirks, taking a drag of the cigarette. </p><p>“Lizzie needs to be careful and I - I need to be careful too. With you,” Jade explains, taking a drag of the cigarette as Josie holds it out to her waiting lips, balancing her head on the hand that wasn’t back to moving along Josie’s stomach and across her hips, leaving goosebumps in their wake. </p><p>“I know how to be discreet, Jade,” Josie chuckles, not meeting her eyes, the cigarette back between her lips. Jade doesn’t really know how to explain that that’s not even <em>half </em>of all the reasons she needs to be careful around Josie, but bites back her words.</p><hr/><p>They stay up late, the sun rising as Jade feels exhaustion overtake her body. She wakes to the scent of coffee all around her some hours later and her bed empty as she grabs at air, intent on pulling Josie’s sleeping form more fully into her. Grabbing a shirt from her bureau, she pulls it on, padding down the hallway to her kitchen, where Josie is seated, feet up on the wood of a table against the wall, watching the tank Jade has positioned atop it. </p><p>“You never told me you had a turtle,” Josie chides her, handing her mug to Jade who stands by her side, inhaling the scent of coffee with a hint of cinnamon deeply before taking a long sip. </p><p>An eyebrow raised, Jade smiles into the mug. “It didn’t come up in conversation. Josie, meet Cicero. Cicero, I hope you’ve been kind to our guest.”  The turtle looks at Jade before diving into the water in his tank, surfacing to stand on his favorite rock. He was showing off for Josie, Jade realizes with a shake of her head. </p><p>“Why Cicero?” Josie asks, and Jade laughs, leaning into Josie’s side as the brunette slings an arm around Jade’s waist. She’s dressed in a shirt as well - one of Jade’s favorites. The neck of the shirt is stretched from years of wear and a sliver of collarbone taunts Jade. She inhales sharply, before turning back to the tank. </p><p>“You know how Cicero was famed as one of the best orators of the Roman Republic? Well, this little guy will stand on that rock for hours soaking up the light from his little lamp there. It looks like he’s ready to give a speech with his head held high. So, Cicero. It felt fitting.” </p><p>“You’re something else,” Josie observes, biting and sucking her lower lip into her mouth. Jade takes the moment to lean down slightly, dropping a kiss to Josie’s cheek and nosing her way down her neck. </p><p>“Yes, I’m well aware,” she breathes against Josie’s skin, a hand moving up underneath Josie’s shirt - <em> her </em>shirt, she reminds herself with a sense of pride - fingers moving over Josie’s ribcage to the swell of her breast. </p><p>“I vaguely remember being promised breakfast,” Josie breathes, hand at the back of Jade’s neck as the blonde continues to trail kisses along Josie’s throat. </p><p>A laugh and Jade straightens up, licking her lips and pulling her hand out from under Josie’s shirt. “You’re right. So, waffles? And then maybe you can tell me where I can track down Lizzie’s driver.” </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>its a short one but its an update, damnit!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Jade may or may not have gotten distracted while the waffles were in the waffle maker. It hadn’t been her fault, really. Josie was just standing there, naked but for the oversized shirt she was wearing and </span>
  <span>— well, she couldn’t be blamed for her inability to keep her hands off of a beautiful woman. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Especially since said beautiful woman had simply dropped to her knees in the kitchen, with Jade backed up against the island, her hands gripping the granite, knuckles white. Needless to say, it was another hour before they ate (food, at least) and another hour before Jade was stumbling out of her apartment door.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Josie was proving to be a wealth of information when she wasn’t whispering naughty, absolutely sinful things in Jade’s ears.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She’d written down the name of Lizzie’s driver and his cellphone number, even going so far as to give Jade a rough breakdown of his schedule and the various jobs that Lizzie had tasked him with. Which were a lot, but nothing as unhinged as the rumors surrounding how Dana and others treated their domestic staff. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Josie left quickly, a kiss that didn’t linger, her version of a goodbye, and Jade preferred that if she was being honest. She was already so very close to unraveling. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was </span>
  <em>
    <span>something</span>
  </em>
  <span> there with Josie — something hovering around the edges of her mind like a thought not fully-formed, but they both had jobs and a murder investigation hanging over their heads. There was certainly time for fun, as they had proven last night and a few times this morning, but Jade couldn’t afford to get complacent. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Not now. Her career hinges on this investigation and Josie’s career hinges on Lizzie. They both had a lot to lose here. No matter how easy Josie had been making it to forget that. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She was due for a check-in with Detective Waithe, so after hopping in the car and stopping by a cafe for yet another cup of coffee because, damn, Josie had some stamina, Jade walked into the police station, carrying two coffee cups and a chocolate chip muffin in a bag in her mouth (Rafael had always been a sucker for anything with chocolate swirls). </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know the other guys around here are gonna get jealous if you keep bringing these in,” Raf greets her, spinning in his chair as Jade drops the bag into his waiting hands, setting down the to-go cup on his desk. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They’d all be barking up the wrong tree, sadly,” she says airly, inhaling the smell of her own coffee. Something about the mixture of vanilla and cinnamon was taking her back to everything with Josie this morning. As everything seemed to be doing, at the moment. And she really needed focus on work and definitely not on Josie’s legs wrapped around her waist —</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I interviewed all of the party guests while you were off rubbing your shoulders with Miss Elizabeth Saltzman. They all clammed up like the assholes they are — fucking rich people. Alaric left the party at midnight and there are paparazzi photos showing him driving off in a Ferrari. Milton Greasley, Emma Tig, and —” Raf pauses to take a bite of the muffin, “Kaleb Hawkins all left closer to two a.m. Everyone saw Dana go up to her room around 12:45 and she never came down, which was a common occurrence apparently. Dana was known for ghosting even her own party guests.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, and I talked to the security company that manages the surveillance for Dana’s properties all over Los Angeles and someone at the party must have turned off the system at about — ooh,” he pauses to consult the pile of paperwork on his desk, a line of crumbs on his shirt.  Jade perches herself on the desk opposite Rafael’s, legs crossed in her pencil skirt, sipping her coffee slowly.  “— just after one in the morning.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Perfect timing,” Jade comments dryly, eyes unfocused as she runs through the sequences of events that they know about so far. “Did the company know if it was severed at the junction box or if it was cut by someone with authorization?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They’re going to have to do a more thorough check of the system configuration at Dana’s place, but we should have that information in the next few days,” Raf replies, mouth still full of muffin. “But Kirby is looking into it. Shit, we’re late for our update from Doc.” He jumps up out of his chair, crumbs flying everywhere and Jade just shakes her head. This happened </span>
  <em>
    <span>every </span>
  </em>
  <span>single time. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They make their way down to the Medical Examiner’s suite fast, already late. Doc didn’t appreciate tardiness.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Chief Medical Examiner for Los Angeles County was a lovely old man named — well, regardless of whatever his name was, everyone just called him Doc. Doc was pushing eighty years, but his mind was nearly as sharp as it was when he claims that he was tricked into the position by the chief of police sixty years prior. He smoked a pipe and blared Edith Piaf while he performed autopsies, claiming that the smell of his tobacco warded off any angry spirits while he dug into their bodies and that good ole’ Edith kept those that came sniffing around happy and distracted. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jade had never been one for ghost stories or hauntings. Dangerous people were those that were alive and capable of killing others. Like their murderer. He or she was walking free right now. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Doc, whaddya got for us?” Rafael asks, hands plunged in the pockets of his slacks, his tie already askew as they come upon the medical examiner elbows deep in the body of an extremely overweight man. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sumo wrestler ate some blowfish that wasn’t prepared correctly,” he notes quietly, catching Jade eyeing the body before wiggling his eyebrows. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wooo-weee, do I got a fun one for you two!” Doc rolls around on his stool toward Jade, blood from more than one patient streaked across his smock. His glee at the mystery was palpable, but Jade also knew that Doc treated the bodies that he examined with the utmost respect. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know if I like the sound of that,” Jade says, breathing in and out of her mouth in an attempt to block any of the smells from the cadavers just a few feet away. You never </span>
  <em>
    <span>really</span>
  </em>
  <span> got used to the smell of formaldehyde. You just learned to tolerate it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The old man gets up, walking over to where Dana’s body lay on a metal table, a sheet covering her.  He pulls back the sheet to her chest, tilting her head to the side to show the markings from the gunshot wound that ended her life before he hands a file over to Raf.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Now, this lovely lady (god, I loved her films) obviously had a gunshot wound to her temple consistent with suicide, but!” Doc paused for dramatic effect and Jade wanted to tap her foot to tell the medical examiner to get on with it, but he really was a sucker for the drama. “Jade, Raf tells me that you saw right away that she didn’t have any gunshot residue on her hand and palm, which was definitely your first step in the right direction and I taught you so well, my dear—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks, Doc,” Jade interjects with an eye roll, but her voice lacks any venom. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And you were right that the weapon was the .38 that you recovered at the scene with the silencer missing because there’s no way we could have gotten this hemorrhaging and burn mark from anything but a silencer, but!” Doc pauses again, inhaling loudly, “ — the actual cause of death was poisoning! Dana had enough arsenic in her system to have taken out two grown men. Maybe even three. It seems the gunshot wound was just a poorly disguised red herring. Your killer isn’t the most creative of creatures.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why would someone go to the trouble of shooting her when they knew that the poison would do the job?” Jade asks, snatching the autopsy report from Rafael and thumbing through the pages to the section on toxicology. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Good god, Dana didn’t have just arsenic in her system. She also had </span>
  <span>klonopin, xanax, and a number of other drugs, not to mention a blood alcohol level of 1.5. It was a miracle that she could walk that night, let alone throw expensive vases at Lizzie Saltzman with all of that floating around in her system. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s where you two come in, I think,” Doc smirks, lighting up a pipe with a great puff of smoke that swirled all around the cold room. “Before I forget, your time of death is anywhere between 12:30 and 1:30 in the morning, toodles!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There’s something off about this case, Jade ponders as they bid Doc goodbye and the tinny noises of Edith fills the room. It’s a mystery wrapped around another mystery, and no version of the story's making any sense. Her gut tells her that there’s something else going on here, that nothing is as clear-cut as it seems, but her vision could be blurry. It could be off. She didn't like feeling off. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She doesn’t want to be the person who arrests Lizzie Saltzman. She doesn’t want to have to look Josie in the eye as she takes her sister away in handcuffs. But poison and staged suicides and the posing of the body was just </span>
  <span>— it wasn’t adding up. Someone's definitely lying. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>As the two make their way back to Rafael’s desk, Landon Kirby stands waiting for them, a folder clutched in his hands. He’s wearing the same look on his face as he was when Jade encountered him in Dana Lilien’s bedroom, hands shaking as they held paparazzi photos that pointed Jade towards a guilty-looking Lizzie Saltzman.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"More bad news," Jade says, more to herself than to the two men next to her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Got information back on the gun, boss,” Landon says in low tones, sweat beading down his face, barely glancing at Jade before disappearing. He had definitely read the file. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Raf takes one look at the report before thrusting it to Jade with a grimace. Her eyes flash down the page and she can feel her heart skip a beat and her palms grow sweaty because, in plain black and white, she reads - “WEAPON REGISTERED TO: Elizabeth J. Saltzman.” </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>penny for your thoughts?</p></blockquote></div></div>
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